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(6.5 cc - 7.5 cc 2 - cycle) .48 - .70 4 - cycle (7.9 cc - 11.5 cc 4 - cycle) |
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This kit comes very well packed.
All balsa sticks are rubber banded together with similar pieces together.
All ABS parts are neatly wrapped for protection which include, wheel pants,
cowl, and canopy. The plans come in two rolled sheets and are very clear
and easy to understand. The instruction book is also very well put together
and has helpful hints to aid in construction. The hardware package is also
very complete.
Construction starts with tail feathers. These are built up and are very straight forward. Next is the bottom wing which is a D tube design. Each rib has jig tabs on them and really help to produce a very straight wing. The wings are sheeted in normal fashion, with cap strips over each rib. The fuselage is next. It is built upside down over the plans and almost assures you of being straight. When the basic fuselage box is done, formers are added to the top to complete the design. This basically completes the fabrication of the componenents which must now be assembled. The Bottom wing is fitted to the fuselage. This is accomplished with two 1/4 X 20 nylon bolts in back and a tab that is actually part of the center rib that sticks into a former in the fuselage. Then the tail group is attached to the fuselage. Next the turtle deck is fitted over the formers. There is a little balsa bending to do here but by wetting the sheeting slightly, no problems were encountered. The last step in the assembly is to fit the top wing. This is basically the same as fitting the bottom wing except for the center section where the cabanes attach. If the directions are followed carefully at this point, there will be no problem. After the final assembly was, the engine and muffler, radio, servos, pushrods, fittings and control linkages, to avoid denting or scratching a new Monokote finish. After everything was installed, small problem was encountered. During the process of dissassembling prior to covering, there was a problem in removing the cabane struts because the attachment bolts were blocked by the servo tray. This was resolved by using a pair of curved needle nose pliers. The plane was covered in Monokote and all metal parts (cabane struts and landing gear) were painted with Lustrekote paint. The ABS plastic cowl and wheel pants were replaced with after-market fiberglass parts. These are far superior to the ABS plastic which are supplied. These and the spinner were also painted with Lustrekote. Power is supplied by an OS 46-FX with a Slimline Pitts style muffler. This combination presented no problems in fitting it all inside the cowl. The first flight was totally uneventful. This plane flies very well and has no bad habits. All control inputs are very responsive but not to the point of being uncontrollable. Snaps, Spins, Lomcevaks, rolls and knife edge flight are very easy to perform. This kit is very good and is highly recommended to anyone who has passed the training stage and wants the fun of a biplane. |
